Sunday, June 14, 2015

WITH TEMPERATURES OVER A 100 DEGREES IN CONGRESS ARIZONA I’M SURE GLAD WE ARE HERE IN COOL LITTLE BAYFIELD ONTARIO:))

DID YOU KNOW BAYFIELD HAS A VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT ON IT’S MAIN STREET…YEP THEY DO:))Can't even begin to imagine living in a climate that has temperatures over a hundred degrees for days on end. And yet when I checked the Congress Arizona weather this morning that is just the kind of weather they are having for the next 10 days. Every day over a hundred degrees & not a drop of rain in sight. I can only imagine what the little plantings I put in just a few months ago will look like by the time we return later in the year. I will be very surprised if any of the small Joshua trees I dug in will make it. And what must it be like inside our poor little forlorn ranch house in heat like that. I hope Spencer & Froggy along with the rest of the teddy bear gang are keeping cool in there. Tis a harsh summer climate in Arizona just as it is a harsh winter climate here in Ontario during the winter months. So far we have been lucky enough to dodge both those severities for the past 9 years. Looking forward to turning that 9 into a 10:))THOUGHT I WOULD THROW IN ANOTHER SMATTERING OF PHOTOS SHOWING SOME SHOPS ALONG BAYFIELD’S HERITAGE MAIN STREETWith water falling out of the sky for most of the morning I lost my enthusiasm for the rest of the day & spent much of my time in my recliner in front of our television set. Not my favorite kind of day but I did manage to catch half a dozen interesting biographies.Talked to Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida last night & she is pretty excited. The deal finally went through on her purchase of a newer condo a few weeks ago & she has already had a firm offer on her place where she has been living for the past 25 years. Moving right along she has had her new digs painted, arranged for new carpets throughout plus new vinyl floors in the 2 bathrooms & also new vanities. She has been one busy lady getting everything organized. Friends have come into help & everything is skipping right along. She hopes to be in her new place by the end of the month. Pretty darn good for someone in their upper 80's I'd say.Been a long time since we've seen a post from Jerry at Our Life on Wheels way over there in that Benson Arizona place. A few health problems temporarily got in their way these past couple years but both Jerry & Suzy are once more looking forward to getting in some RV traveling time again. Matter of fact they are on the road at the moment with a new RV set up. Gone is their Class A Motorhome & in it's place is a nice Toyota Tundra pick-up truck & a Prowler travel trailer. Keep those wheels rolling guys. Kelly & I spent Christmas Day with Jerry & Suzy back in 2009. And if you click that link the first photo is not a picture of Jerry:)) And long time readers will remember Mike & Pat McFall from Mikes blog a few years ago called Mike & Pat's Travels. Pat & Mike have been at their winter North Ranch digs in Congress Arizona now since the Fall of 2013. Due to health problems they had not been able to travel & make it back to their summer place in Custer South Dakota since that time. Can you imagine the excitement over at Mike & Pat's right now knowing they have finally been medically cleared to head out for South Dakota this coming Thursday. Thanks for the note in our Shout Box Mike & we are all wishing you, Pat, & Ms Megabyte 2 safe travels:))GROANER'S CORNER:(( My husband, who is an auto mechanic, was on the kidney- transplant list. As you can imagine, it was a tense time for our family. But one day, the phone rang and our teenage son answered. It was the hospital with good news. "Dad" he yelled excitedly, "Your parts are in!"

I am really enjoying seeing your lovely little town and all the great buildings. Yeah...hot day after day is pure hell. I had to live in Sonora California for 4 years as I finished up my career before retiring, and it was over 100 for two months straight in 2006. Sometimes 114. The Mother Lode country in the Sierra Foothills is often hotter than Arizona. It was crazy! With air on full blast, set at 79, the coolest I could get my house was about 85. Never again!!

Right now Congress is still very doable....we had dinner on the patio and it was lovely. The nights are still cooling off and we turn the air off and don't turn it on again until about 10 or 11 am. Sure it is a little warm but it is summer...the monsoon are already starting to build up...

Al, I am so enjoying your photo tour of Bayfield and surrounding areas! It makes me want to live there!! (OK, not in the winter....) What a gorgeous village it is. And the frog photo on your link that was NOT Jerry - is so colorful and pretty that it would look good framed and on the wall for a great pop of color in a room. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I look forward to your blog every day, and I am so happy to get these great photo tours. You make my day happy. :-)Jool in N. Texas

Lived year-round in the desert when I was in high school. Literally spent every summer day at the community pool. Amazingly my dermatologist gave me a clean bill last month! Love your little town, they have done a great job keeping it charming. Always encouraging to see folks overcoming health issues and getting back on the road!

AL'S CAMERA EQUIPMENT

A sometimes asked question readers have about my blog is what kind of a camera do I use. Well I have 8 of them and use them all. Five Nikon DSLR's, two quality Sony point and shoots plus one older Canon point and shoot.

'UPDATE':: July 2017 Thanks to a very generous blog reader I have been able to update my Nikon camera equipment and supplement my camera gear with a couple additional fine Sony cameras as well.I now have a 'donated' Nikon D7200 sporting my new Nikkor 18-300 3.5 zoom lens. Also have picked up a new Nikkor 1.8 primary 35mm lens. In addition I also now have a Sony RX100-3 camera as well as a Sony Exmore Cybershot. I have given my Canon Powershot point and shoot camera to a neighbor.

- In early 2017 I replaced my Nikon D-90 camera with a new D-3400 after the 'auto focus' feature on my aging D-90 quit working. The Nikon D-90 had been my work horse camera sporting a Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens. I used this camera for most of my landscapes and I now have it set up for night photography where 'auto focus' is not necessary.

-My older faithful and favorite Nikon D-40 finally packed it in during the summer of 2015 and I replaced it with a new Nikon D-3100.

- Previous to my Nikon D-90, most of my photos were taken with my old faithful Nikon D-50 from 2006 to early 2011 whereupon the D-50 suffered a rather gruesome death when it fell off a table onto a cement porch in southeastern Arizona. The 70-300mm lens on the camera survived the fall but the D-50 did not. My Nikkor lenses are interchangable between the D-90 the D-3100 and the D-3400.